"
Patricia's strength was equal to her courage, and under the excitement
of that desperate moment she did what few other girls of her size
could ever have accomplished. She drew the boy up until his eager
hands caught the edges of the plank, and gripped it firmly. Then she
released him and crept a little back toward the roof.
"Now swing your legs up and you're safe!" she cried.
He tried to obey, but his strength was failing him, and he could do no
more than touch the plank with his toes.
"Once more," called the girl.
This time she caught his feet as they swung upward, and drew his legs
around the plank.
"Can you climb up, now?" she asked, anxiously.
"I'll try," he panted.
The plank upon which this little tragedy was being enacted was in full
view of the small garden where Aunt Jane loved to sit in her chair and
enjoy the flowers and the sunshine. She could not see Kenneth's wing
at all, but she could see the elevated plank leading from the roof to
the oak tree, and for several days had been puzzled by its appearance
and wondered for what purpose it was there.
Today, as she sat talking with John Merrick and Silas Watson, she
suddenly gave a cry of surprise, and following her eyes the two men
saw Kenneth step out upon the roof, fall, and slide over the edge.
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